NBI to hold reenactment of Davantes slay

MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will conduct a reenactment to establish the chain of events that led to the killing of advertising executive Kristelle Davantes earlier this month, an official said yesterday.

Virgilio Mendez, NBI’s deputy director for regional operations services, said the NBI-National Capital Region may do it either today or tomorrow.

“They have to do it just to check (the facts) and in order to complete our presentation to the prosecutor,” Mendez said over the phone.

He also said that a witness to Davantes’ murder, whom the NBI has in custody, has been placed under the Department of Justice (DOJ) Witness Protection Program yesterday afternoon. 

Mendez declined to divulge more details to avoid putting the witness or the witness’ family in danger.

Davantes was taken by a group of young robbers who chanced upon her in front of her house in Moonwalk, Las Piñas. Her body was found in Silang, Cavite last Sept. 7 only hours after she was kidnapped.

Charges readied

The National Capital Region Police Office is preparing robbery with homicide charges against the suspects in Davantes’ killing, NCRPO deputy director for operations Chief Superintendent Christopher Laxa said.

Laxa, who also heads a task force investigating Davantes’ death, said that they have to sit down with their counterparts at the NBI, who conducted a separate investigation.

It is up to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima whether to file the charges in Las Piñas City or in Silang, Cavite, he added. The NBI is under the DOJ.

“We will write a letter to De Lima for us to meet our NBI counterparts on Wednesday to consolidate our evidence, especially the statements of our witnesses prior to the filing of the case against the suspects in Davantes slay,” Laxa said in an interview.

Three of the suspects – Samuel Decimo, 19; Lloyd Enriquez, 19, and Jojo Diel, 30 – are now in police and NBI custody. Laxa said three more suspects are still at large, though Decimo – who confessed to stabbing Davantes to death – said he was only accompanied by four accomplices.

Laxa said based on the statements of the suspects in custody, Davantes was killed by chance. “We have no evidence that there are other motives in the killing of Davantes except those what was stated by the suspects in custody,” Laxa said.